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Iraq’s financial revenues exceed 8 trillion dinars during the month

The Ministry of Finance revealed on Monday that the volume of Iraqi revenues in the federal budget during January 2026 exceeded 8 trillion dinars.

Shafaq News Agency followed up on the data and tables issued by the Ministry of Finance this April for the accounts of January 2026, which showed total revenues amounting to 8 trillion, 537 billion, 96 million, 679 thousand, and 517 dinars, an increase of 6% compared to the same period of 2025, which amounted to 8 trillion, 40 billion, and 323 million dinars.

According to the financial tables, oil revenues amounted to 7 trillion, 75 billion, 94 million, and 766 thousand dinars, which constitutes 83% of the general budget, while non-oil revenues amounted to 1 trillion, 462 billion, 1 million, and 913 thousand dinars.

She indicated that the non-oil revenues transferred from the Kurdistan Region to the state treasury amounted to 120 billion dinars.

She indicated that the total current expenditures amounted to 8 trillion, 345 billion, 781 million, and 900 thousand dinars, including salaries for employees amounting to 5 trillion and 87 billion dinars, pensions for retirees amounting to 1 trillion and 598 billion dinars, and social welfare salaries amounting to 458 billion dinars.

In March 2021, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, the Prime Minister’s advisor for financial affairs, confirmed in an interview with Shafaq News Agency that the reasons for the economy remaining rentier are due to the wars and the imposition of the economic embargo on Iraq during the past era, and what we are witnessing today in terms of political conflicts has led to the dispersal of economic resources.

The Iraqi state’s continued reliance on oil as the sole source of its general budget puts Iraq at risk from global crises that occur from time to time due to the impact on oil, forcing the country each time to cover the deficit by borrowing from abroad or within, which indicates an inability to manage state funds effectively and an inability to find alternative financing solutions.

Shafaq.com

Among them are “military sanctions”… The Iraqi government issues directives to restrict weapons to the state.

On Monday, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, issued decisions regarding restricting weapons to the state and taking firm measures against outlaws, as well as military penalties against those who fail in their duties from the security forces.

The spokesman for the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Sabah al-Nu’man, said in a statement received by Shafaq News Agency that “the Prime Minister (outgoing) Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Muhammad Shia’ al-Sudani, chaired today the third periodic meeting of the Ministerial Council for National Security for the year 2026.”

He pointed out that “during the meeting, the overall security situation in the country was discussed, and the topics on the agenda were considered, and the necessary decisions and recommendations were made regarding them, including the report on monitoring sources of terrorism financing, importing anti-aircraft systems, and keeping Iraq neutral from the course of the regional conflict.”

He explained that “the attendees discussed regional developments, security, political and economic challenges, and the government’s commitment to protecting Iraq’s sovereignty and consolidating security and stability through integrated measures at the security, administrative and diplomatic levels.”

According to Al-Nu’man, the council affirmed “Iraq’s right to defend itself and prevent any attempt to target or use its territory. As a result of these discussions, a number of important recommendations were emphasized, including security and military measures, restricting weapons to the state, and taking decisive measures against outlaws.”

The Council decided to “take the necessary security, military and legal measures to prevent any attack on neighboring countries from Iraqi territory, or any attack on diplomatic missions, and to confront any entity operating outside the framework of the state, while pursuing the perpetrators of these acts without exception, in order to ensure the protection of Iraq’s security and sovereignty.”

Regarding administrative procedures, the Ministerial Council decided to “dismiss and hold accountable the offending parties and elements or those involved in illegal acts and refer them to the judiciary.”

Regarding the protection of diplomatic missions, the Council stressed that “any infringement on the security and safety of diplomatic missions and facilities is unacceptable and against the law, and the government will take firm military, security, legal and administrative measures against the perpetrators of these acts, in order to preserve the sovereignty of the state and the prestige of its institutions.”

The Council affirmed that “targeting neighboring countries from Iraqi territory is considered a terrorist act, and this description applies to any act targeting diplomatic missions operating in Iraq.”

In the file of strengthening diplomatic efforts, the Council decided to “intensify communication and diplomatic coordination with neighboring countries and countries of the region, in a way that enhances reducing tensions and consolidating regional stability, and enshrines the approach of dialogue and understanding as a basic option, and in a way that ensures the protection of Iraq’s supreme interests and strengthens its regional position.”

He stressed the need to “strengthen mechanisms for exchanging information and security assessments, in order to support joint efforts to combat cross-border threats, and to unify relevant regional and international efforts in confronting security challenges, and to enhance cooperation based on respect for sovereignty and common interests.”

The Council stressed “the need for neighboring brotherly and friendly countries to refrain from using their territories as a launching pad for attacks on Iraq, or from violating its territorial sovereignty, the sanctity of its airspace and waters.”

At the conclusion of the meeting, the Ministerial Council for National Security affirmed that “protecting the state requires decisive decisions and proactive measures, and that integration between security, administrative and diplomatic work represents a national necessity to maintain stability, strengthen the economy, and preserve Iraq’s regional and international standing.”

The participants stressed “preventing any military action against any party whatsoever within Iraqi territory, and that Iraq is responsible for its own security and no party has the right to interfere in its affairs.”

Shafaq.com

Al-Muslawi: The framework will announce its candidate for the position of Prime Minister unanimously tonight.

MP Firas al-Muslawi, spokesperson for the Reconstruction and Development Coalition, confirmed that the Coordination Framework will unanimously announce its candidate for the position of Prime Minister tonight.

Al-Muslawi told Al-Maalouma, “The Reconstruction and Development Coalition supports whoever is chosen within the Coordination Framework to ensure that the constitutional deadline for resolving the Prime Minister position is not exceeded.”

He added, “Tonight’s meeting of the Coordination Framework will result in the selection and announcement of the name of the Prime Minister for the next phase,” noting that “his coalition respects the decisions of the Coordination Framework that will be announced regarding the selection of the Prime Minister.”

He explained that “the available information indicates that the mechanism for selecting the Prime Minister will be unanimous within the Coordination Framework, and therefore, the decisions of the Framework and the outcomes of its meeting tonight will be respected by Reconstruction and Development.”

MP Mukhtar al-Moussawi had previously revealed to Al-Maalouma that “the Framework is moving towards selecting Ali al-Zidi as a compromise candidate for the position of Prime Minister for the next phase, after the Framework’s failure over the past period to select one of the previously announced candidates.”

Almaalomah.me

Due to “weak diplomatic representation,” a parliamentary move is underway to replace Iraq’s ambassadors.

On Monday, Mukhtar al-Moussawi, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee in the Iraqi Parliament, called for a radical change in the performance of Iraqi foreign policy, criticizing what he described as the “weak representation” of some diplomatic missions abroad.

Al-Moussawi told Shafaq News Agency that “Iraq’s position remains unclear in light of regional tensions, particularly those related to the conflict between the United States and Israel on one side, and Iran on the other,” noting that “this ambiguity reflects the need for a comprehensive reassessment of the foreign relations system.”

He added that “ambassadors represent the face of Iraq abroad, but most of them do not work at the required level,” stressing that he raised during the meeting of the Foreign Relations Committee the need to “replace and change a number of ambassadors.”

Al-Moussawi explained that the committee intends to submit a proposal to the new Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, which includes reviewing the performance of diplomatic missions and working to replace ambassadors who do not provide representation befitting Iraq.

This proposal comes at a time when criticism of the mechanism for appointing ambassadors is escalating, amid repeated accusations that it is subject to political quotas at the expense of professional competence, which has been reflected in repeated diplomatic crises that have sparked widespread controversy in political and media circles.

The Iraqi parliament voted on August 26, 2025, on the list of “new ambassadors” sent by the “outgoing” Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, after a parliamentary debate.

According to the list of ambassadors that Shafaq News Agency reviewed at the time, it revealed that a significant number of the names on the list were sons or direct relatives of influential political figures in the country, some of whom were just over thirty years old, without any diplomatic background or professional record that would qualify them for this sovereign position.

Shafaq.com

Abdul Hadi: The coordination framework meeting is still scheduled for this evening, and there are no indications of its postponement.

A member of the Coordination Framework, Uday Abdul-Hadi, confirmed on Friday that the meeting of the Framework’s leaders scheduled for this evening in Baghdad is still on, and there are no indications of its postponement.

Speaking to Al-Maalouma, Abdul-Hadi said, “The meeting of the Coordination Framework leaders scheduled for this evening will be held as planned, and there are no indications of its postponement.” He noted that “all expectations point towards a resolution through an official statement identifying the candidate of the largest bloc for the premiership of the next government.”

He added that “the number of candidates so far ranges between four and five names, according to available information,” emphasizing that “the Framework’s leaders will determine the identity of the candidate who receives their approval to assume this important position.”

Abdul-Hadi indicated that “the Framework’s meeting will not only be aimed at deciding on the name of the prime ministerial candidate, but will also address the remaining entitlements within the government cabinet,” explaining that “the anticipated agreements will be comprehensive, through integrated understandings among the leaders of the Coordination Framework.”

Almaalomah.me

Behind the scenes… A new evening in front of the frame to “resolve” the Prime Minister’s office

A well-informed political source confirmed on Friday that the leadership of the Coordination Framework is “determined” to hold its postponed meeting to decide on the name of the next Prime Minister, while noting that the chances of the Reconstruction and Development Coalition’s candidate for the position, Ihsan Al-Awadi, have “decreased” due to the objection of the coalition’s own deputies.

The source told Shafaq News Agency that the meeting scheduled to be held today at the home of the head of the Supreme Islamic Council, Humam Hamoudi, “will be held to decide on the name of the candidate for the position of Prime Minister and may extend for hours, as the leadership of the framework is determined to do so.”

He added that today’s meeting may not resolve the matter due to the lack of consensus on a specific candidate, and that the Reconstruction and Development Coalition, led by caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, intends to nominate another figure instead of al-Awadi for the position of Prime Minister.

The source indicated that “there is a proposal from some leaders of the framework that will be presented at today’s meeting, which includes resorting to a compromise candidate to end the conflict and political deadlock within the framework between the State of Law and Reconstruction and Development.”

According to the proposal, the compromise candidate “will be supported by the leadership of the framework unanimously and not by a specific individual, and there are several names being considered, and one of them may be chosen as the compromise candidate in a meeting this evening.”

The Coordination Framework had announced on Wednesday evening the postponement of its meeting, during which the candidate for the Prime Ministership was supposed to be decided, until Friday.

The framework stated in a brief statement received by Shafaq News Agency that “it was decided to postpone the meeting until Friday to allow more space for dialogue and to reach a result within the constitutional timeframe.”

The coordinating framework had failed to agree on a candidate for prime minister during two meetings held last Saturday and Monday, so the decision was postponed until Wednesday.

In recent days, sources reported that outgoing Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani put forward the name of Ihsan al-Awadi as a candidate for the premiership, in contrast to the nomination of Bassem al-Badri by the State of Law Coalition led by Nouri al-Maliki.

Returning to the political source, he explained that “the competition between the State of Law Coalition and the Reconstruction and Development Coalition for the premiership is still ongoing, but the chances of the Director of the Prime Minister’s Office, Ihsan Al-Awadi, have declined in the past two days as a result of the objection of the Sudanese Coalition MPs to Al-Awadi’s nomination for the position of Prime Minister.”

He stressed that “the chances of the State of Law candidate, the head of the Supreme National Commission for Accountability and Justice, Bassem al-Badri, remain the same, and he enjoys the support of seven votes out of 12 votes in the leadership of the framework.”

Following the nomination of Ihsan Al-Awadi, the director of his office, by the Sudanese government, 30 members of the Reconstruction and Development bloc, which consists of 52 members, threatened to withdraw if Ihsan Al-Awadi was nominated to head the government.

An informed source told Shafaq News Agency on Wednesday that “30 MPs threatened to leave the Reconstruction and Development bloc if Ihsan Al-Awadi is nominated for the premiership by the head of the coalition, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani.”

On Thursday evening, MP Mahmoud Al-Shammari, from the parliamentary services bloc, revealed that members of parliament intended to collect signatures and send an official letter to the President of the Republic to nominate a suitable person for the position of Prime Minister, in the event that the coordination framework does not reach an agreement on choosing a candidate by next Saturday.

Al-Shammari told Shafaq News Agency that “if the coordination framework does not reach an agreement to choose a candidate for the position of Prime Minister within the constitutionally specified period, then the members of the House of Representatives will have a different opinion on the matter.”

He added: “We are waiting for the leadership of the framework until Saturday, and if they do not reach an agreement to choose the appropriate candidate for the position of Prime Minister, then the members of Parliament will collect signatures and send an official letter to the President of the Republic to nominate the appropriate person and get out of the political deadlock.”

Shafaq.com

US Defense Secretary threatens Iraqi factions: Protecting the Kurdistan Region is a priority

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth affirmed that protecting the Kurdistan Region and confronting pro-Iranian factions is at the heart of the current US strategy, stressing that Washington is closely monitoring attacks targeting the region and its leaders.

This came in response to a question during a press conference, in which he pointed out that the Kurdistan Region has been subjected to 725 drone and missile attacks since February 28, resulting in the death of 22 people and the injury of about 100 others, in addition to recording 20 additional violations after the ceasefire was declared, including targeting the residence of Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani and Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani in Duhok.

Hegseth explained, during a press conference attended by a correspondent from Shafaq News Agency, that the attacks carried out by Iranian proxies against the Kurds represent “evidence of the nature of the regime in Tehran,” accusing it of seeking to destabilize the region through its armed arms.

The US Secretary of State stressed that the fundamental goal of the ongoing operations and political pressure is to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, arguing that this would prevent providing cover for these factions to continue their attacks.

Hegseth concluded by noting that “curbing the influence of armed factions and protecting allies, foremost among them the Kurdistan Region, are priorities within the objectives of current American moves in the region.”

Shafaq.com

Crucial hours ahead… The president and the judiciary may announce the name of al-Sudani’s successor: Have the leaders of the framework failed?

Behind the scenes in the homes of the framework leaders, discussions never end. Successive meetings – bilateral and collective – are held by the coordinating forces, where the final details of the battle for the premiership are being plotted, in a scene that seems more like a race with the last 48 hours remaining on the deadline.

Within these meetings, ambitions intersect with complex calculations. Caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani put six proposals on the table during his recent visit to State of Law Coalition leader Nouri al-Maliki, proposals that could be the key to breaking the deadlock, or just another stop on the road to further complications.

One of the most prominent proposals involves a difficult deal—a political concession of parliamentary seats in exchange for securing the premiership—a seemingly minor obstacle that lies at the heart of the crisis. Overcoming this hurdle could pave the way for a comprehensive settlement, ending months of deadlock.

In this regard, Amer Al-Fayez, a member of the Coordination Framework, confirmed to Shafaq News Agency that the ongoing meetings “have led to important understandings to resolve the disputes,” predicting that the nomination of a candidate for the premiership will be decided within the next few hours.

On the other hand, things are not going smoothly behind closed doors. There are sharp disagreements over the distribution of portfolios and positions, especially the position of Deputy Prime Minister, which has become a point of contention between parties who see it as a political entitlement, and others who link it to parliamentary weight. The talk is about assigning it to Mohsen Al-Mandalawi, without any agreement on it.

According to informed sources who spoke to Shafaq News Agency, preliminary understandings have been reached regarding the distribution of a number of ministries, including oil, education, higher education, defense, finance, electricity, and foreign affairs, which were discussed recently in accordance with the balances of political blocs and their parliamentary sizes.

Nevertheless, some parties are talking about “important understandings” that have begun to take shape, with indications that the coming hours may bring a new name for the head of government, or at least the outlines of a preliminary agreement.

However, in the event of a failure to reach an agreement, alternative scenarios are ready on the table: a constitutional mandate from the President of the Republic, resorting to the Federal Court, or even going towards the option of an emergency government, as confirmed by the head of the political body of the National Tribal Movement, Abdul Rahman Al-Jazaeri, during his interview with Shafaq News Agency.

Between these paths, the scene remains open to all possibilities, while attention is focused on a crucial meeting that may be held on Friday, where the end of the crisis may be written, or the beginning of a new chapter of it that goes beyond the framework houses to include the entire political process.

With Iraq entering the post-election phase of President Nizar Amidi, attention is turning to the most important entitlement, which is the formation of the new government, amidst heated political debate within the coordination framework regarding the prime minister candidate.

Politicians agree that the formation of the Iraqi government has many drawbacks, but they fundamentally disagree on how to characterize the crisis, with some seeing it as a serious political deadlock that threatens stability, and others considering it merely a normal dialogue within the constitutional framework.

The coordinating framework had set a date for a crucial meeting last Saturday, before postponing it to Monday, with the aim of deciding on a candidate for the premiership. However, the meeting ended without reaching a final agreement, so it was postponed to Wednesday, before being postponed again to Friday.

Shafaq.com

A parliamentary message to the framework: No deadline after Saturday, we will choose the prime minister.

Mahmoud al-Shammari, a member of the Services Bloc in the Iraqi Parliament, revealed on Thursday evening that members of Parliament intend to collect signatures and send an official letter to the President of the Republic to nominate a suitable person for the position of Prime Minister, in the event that the Coordination Framework does not reach an agreement on choosing a candidate by next Saturday.

Al-Shammari told Shafaq News Agency that “if the coordination framework does not reach an agreement to choose a candidate for the position of Prime Minister within the constitutionally specified period, then the members of the House of Representatives will have a different opinion on the matter.”

He added: “We are waiting for the leadership of the framework until next Saturday, and if they do not reach an agreement to choose the appropriate candidate for the position of Prime Minister, then the members of Parliament will collect signatures and send an official letter to the President of the Republic to nominate the appropriate person and get out of the political deadlock.”

The MP stressed that “the House of Representatives is capable of nominating the person as it is the legislative authority in the country and the highest authority in the Iraqi state,” noting that “the continuation of the situation as it is and the continuation of the caretaker government and 10 vacant ministries without a minister pushes us to intervene in the matter of choosing the candidate for the next government.”

A member of the coordination framework, Amer Al-Fayez, told Shafaq News Agency on Thursday that the ongoing meetings had led to important understandings to resolve the disputes, suggesting that the nomination of a candidate for the premiership would be decided within the next few hours.

With Iraq entering the post-election phase of President Nizar Amidi, attention is turning to the most important entitlement, which is the formation of the new government, amidst heated political debate within the coordination framework regarding the prime minister candidate.

The coordinating framework had set a date for a crucial meeting last Saturday, before postponing it to Monday, with the aim of deciding on a candidate for the premiership. However, the meeting ended without reaching a final agreement, so it was postponed to Wednesday, before being postponed again to Friday.

Shafaq.com